Trench excavating machine



w. e. VAN voom-ns 2,409,334 7 TRENCH BXCAVATING MACHINE Oct-15,1946.

Filed Nov. is, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I William G 2 76 029155 w. G. VAN Voom-us 2,409,334 TRENCH ExcAvATIkG MACHINE Oct. 15, 1 4a Filed Nov. 13, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 William 65165]: 1602 72115 w. cs, VAN VCORHIS 2,409,334 .TRENCH EXCAVATING MACHINE Filed Nov. 13, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 E1 EE Oct. 15, 1946. w. VOORHIS 2,409,334

TRENCH EXCAVATING MACHINE Filed Nov. 15, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 r Fl z 24- 23 2.5 V

I I I William 6} V0 22 760292;

Patented Oct. 15, 1946 UNIT ED? STATES O F FliCE 2,409,334 TRENGH-EXGAVATiNG-MKCHINE' WilliamsG; VanyVoorhis; Columbus; OhimasSignor to-TheJaeger MachjneaGompanmt-Golumbuw Ohio, aracorporation of Ohio-v Aiiplicationwo'vembef 13, 19414; Serial No: 5033125 This invention relates to: ditch and tre'noh diggingim'achines and has fo'r an object toprovide aniimproved maohihe for this purpose: embodying a. portable engine-propelled base" vehicle having? mounted on one end thereof: a turiia'bie mast foz etfotinfg: the support of: a pivotally mounted boom; a; ditch ohtrehch di'ggihg scoop 01-- b 'icket being':' 1'1miunted 011 the-boom foflongi tudihal travel; there being power -acthated cabie means connected with the Bebop or bucket for effecting positive advance thereof lbhgitiidifiall y in either di 'rectior'i'- on the boom;

It is another objectof theihvehtion toprovicie ascoop or Bucket fofuse-in conne'ctionwith such atrench forming machine" which, during its's'oi1== diggin'g' or excavating operation; travels from the outere'nd ofit'ssupporting ooom'toward'tl'ie automotive base vehicle on which the" boom is mounted and wherein the open end of the-scoop? o'r bucket is -provided a pivotally mounted dooi" which; through an" automatic operation, occupies'an' open position-upon advance'movem'ent of the scoop orhuckiat" ih'to thesoil and a closed position u on outward movement of the" scoop or bucket" on the boom; whereby toename the scoopor bucket t'bTetain soil withiii the 'cdiifih'es thereof during raising ofthe" boom to" 'bring'the' scoop'or bucket toan elevated position of ma-- teritti discharge? It is a further object of theihvehtioir to'*p'ro-" vide" a soil -excavatingmachifie of the chara'oter set forth whereihthe cable lines," employed in causih'g the scoop or bucliet totravei" longitudt n'ali y'fback and fortlif o'ii it"s"as'sobiated support;- ing boom; are so" relat'ed to=tiie pivoteu doofo'f the" scooporbucketas to automatically open or close the latter when movement" of said scoopo'r bucketon the lcioom'isefiectedi- Still; a further object of" the i'n'vehtion is to provide aloadih'g or excavating machine ofthis nature characterized hy'the simplicit'y 'o't its hie chanica'i construction; the ease by which its *op oration may be governed; azid its compact and stiirdy mechanical design b'y which the saiheis" rendered adaptable for hard us'a'g' ei Without 11a:- biliti of me'chani'e'al failure.-

FOI a furtherunderstandirig of the invention; referenceiis to be h'a'd toithe followiii'g des'cr-ibtiori and the accompanying drawings, wherein z Fig.1 is a side elevational'iview'of aloadingior excavating machine formed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 isa top plan-iview thereof;

Fig. 3- is a front elevational view ofrthema;:-=

chine, disclosing the=boom and scoop in -its olev 2 va'ted position. at one si'de oi the mocha-re for discharge of thestoop contents into an associ med-vehicle; I

Fig. 4 is a'- vertioal' transverse sectional View taken through the boom and' 'scoop on the piatie Fig. 'ms amemargedifragmehtawtoo planwiew of the boom and its supoottiirg'mast;

Figs 8 1st a fragmentany; side: eievati'onal view disclosing; the? oabiemperatedi scoop; or bucketwat the outer end: of? the supporting boom" and in a; trench-diggingn positiom- ReiI'IiIigE more particularly to the: drawings; themumerat: I0 d'esihatesfi the chassis or? frame o-fan iautomotive basevehicle; which forms a part' of: my" improved-loading orexoavating machine: the numeral H designatesthe material-ham d-ling excavating;scoopitshovel or other load 081 rien}: the: muiierah I 2? designates: generally: the boomrsemployed ih theraming? or IOWBtingilOf the scoop; to causzit: to? assume r desiredspbsitions" or material .excavationand: discharge;v and the: nu=- m eral'i t3 designates im its entirety a; vehicle carried mast to which the boom is? pivotallyl united at its: inner endfor turning? movement about botmhorizohtal and-vertical axes:

The;mast1 -@is;-carriedabto'the fname I 0 at -its foi wardior: loadingzendrand isoisposed over a: pair" of gfound -exigaging g power driven, tractionthereto a worm gettrws'e'ginent" 22, 2 the teeth or which-mesh with -an engine-driveri worm 2'3 and by means of which the column may be rotated about its vertical axis. Formed with and arising from the segment 22 are ears 24 to which are pivoted for turning movement about a horizontal axis the inner ends of a pair of boom rails 25, the latter being disposed on opposite sides of an inverted U-shaped beam 26, the rails 25 being of channel-forrri' to provide open-sided guides. The rails 25 and the beam 26 are rigidly united in spaced order by transverse bars 21 to form the complete boom.

Mounted for longitudinal travel in the guides provided by the rails 25 are rollers 28, the latter being mounted for rotation on inwardly projecting studs 28a carried by a pair of carriage plates 29. The lower edges of these plates are pivotally united as at 36 with the vertical sides 3| of said scoop. The scoop or bucket is closed on all sides except th open front thereof, and when the scoop is moved upwardly with the boom to a discharge position, as in Fig. 3, the open end thereof is closed by a pivotally mounted door or end closure 34, the latter having its upper portion pivotally mounted as at 35 in connection with the top of the scoop.

The door 34 is normally held in its scoop-closing position by providing the sides of the scoop with a pair of pivoted bolts 36. The threaded free ends of these bolts receive nuts 31 against which press the outer ends of a pair of coil springs 38, the opposite ends of th latter being engaged with turnable heads 39 carried by the side edges of the door 34, the expansive force of said springs thus Serving to hold the doorin its position of scoop closure. r The pivotal connections 39 between the carriage: plates 29 and the scoop sides 3| include turnable studs 46 having headed outer ends 4|. The heads 4| are formed with openings for the sliding reception of a door-operating yoke 42, the intermediate portion 43 of this yoke being received Withinears 44 projecting from the door 34. When th door is open, by means hereinafter described, it will be seen that the springs 38 are compressed and the yoke 42 slides outwardly in the heads 4 I When the forces opening the door are released, the expansion of the springs 38 forces the door to its position of scoop closure in order to confine the contents thereof, and the yoke slides forwardly in the openings provided in the stud heads 4|.

- Connected with the intermediate portion of the yoke 42 is one end of a cable 45.- From its point of connection with the yoke, the cable 45 extends to a sheave 46 carried by the inner ends of the boom rails 25. From the sheave 46, the cable 45 is trained upwardly, passing over a sheave 41 mounted on the upperend of the mast l3. After passing over the sheave 41, the cable 45 depends vertically through the hollow-interior of the column l9 and, at the lower end of the column, passes around a sheave 48 supported on the vehicle frame Ill. From the sheave 48,'the cable 45,extends to a power-actuated drum 49 driven by: the engine I and mounted on the frame It. 1 Itwill be seen that when the cable 45 is Wound about the drum 49 so that'its effective length is shortened, the first movement of said cable causes the scoop door to swing to an open position against the resistance of the coil springs 38, the opening movement of the door being limited by the contacting of stop enlargements 56 provided on the ends of the side legs of the yoke 42 with the heads 4| of the studs .40. When this occurs, a direct pull is imparted by th cable 45 to th carriage 4 29, thereby causing penetration of the scoop into the soil and movement of the scoop longitudinally and inwardly of the boom toward the base vehicle I0.

When the scoop is filled with soil, or other material being gathered or excavated, rotation of the drum 49 is discontinued, and by customary clutch and brake control on the drum 49, the tension on the cable 45 may be released, thereby causing the door 34 to assume its position of scoop closure as a result of the expansion of the springs 38. The boom is then oscillated about its horizontal axis, provided by the cars 24, whereby to cause elevation of the scoop from the ground or other working surface and after which the scoop, with its open end closed by the door 34, is moved linearly and outwardly of the boom to a discharge position. Such outward movement of the scoop is effected by a cable 5|, which is fastened at one end, as at 52, to the carriage 29. From its point of securement to th carriage, the cable is advanced forwardly of the boom and trained over a sheave 53 fixed for rotation on the outer end of said boom.

;From the sheave 53, the cable 5| is trained rearwardly, passing around one of the sheaves 46 at the inner pivoted end of the boom. From the sheave 46, the cable 5| passes upwardly in parallel order with the cable and is trained around one of the sheaves 41, then passing downwardly through the column 9, around one of the sheaves 49 and is then wrapped around a drum 54 to which its inner end is secured. The drum 54 is disposed on the frame l0 adjacent to the drum 49, both drums through suitable clutch and brake controls being actuated by power derived from the engine l5. Thus with the drum 49 released to permit of the withdrawal of the cable 45 therefrom, the rotation of the drum 54 will cause th cable 5| to be wound thereabout shortening the effective length of said cable and causing the carriage and scoop to be moved outwardly and linearly of the boom 25.

To raise the boom so that the scoop, when advanced to the outer end of said boom, will occupy an elevated position, for instance, above the body 55 of a dump truck, use is made of a third cable 56. This cable has its inner end anchored to a bail 51 which is pivoted as at 58 on the upper end of the-turnable mast I3. From its point of connection with the bail 51, the cable 56 extends to a sheave 59 mounted on the extreme outer end of the boom structure. After passing around the sheave 59, the cable 56 is trained rearwardly, passing over the sheave 41, thence downwardly through the column I9, around the sheave 48 and is wrapped around and secured to a third drum 69. This latter drum is mounted on the vehicle fram It adjacent to the drums 49 and 54 and like the latter drums is operated by motion transmitting means 6| from the engine l5, the drum '60 having the usual individual brake and clutch controls of standard design. When the cable is wrapped around the drum 60, it will be seen that forces are applied to the outer end of the boom structure, causing the latter toswing about its horizontal pivotal connection 24 in an upward direction until elevated to the full line position disclosed in Fig. 3.

' With the boom held in such an elevated position,'the cable 45 is actuated to open the door 34, providing for gravitational discharge of the scoop contents int/o'thevehicle body shown at 55, or other elevated receiver. Preferably, the outer ends of the boom rails 25 are, as viewed in Fig. 1,

inclined upwardly as at '62, so *that when the boom is elevated and the scoop advanced into registration with the inclined region 62 thereof, the-scoop will assume an enhanced position of angularity to' insure complete gravitational outii'o'wof its contents.

-'It is often desirable in the operation of a machine of this character to swing the boom and se'oopso that the same will be positioned laterally to oneside or the other-of the portablebase vehicle. Thus in -atrench-forming operation, the dump "vehicles which are used to convey the ex- 'cava'ted soil irom-thetrench site, are driven to occupy positions-parallel with the base vehicle, a's-"sho'wn in Fig.3. Hence, to discharge the contents-oi thescoop into the body of a dump vehicle so positioned, it is necessary to swing the boornandscoopllaterally of themachine so that the sa/me will occupy the positions depicted in Fig.3.

In the present machine, this may be convenientiy accomplished by turning the column is about its vertical axis, which swings with it the boom structure and scoop. Through the motion transmitting means 65 and reversing clutches 63, power from the engine 45 is applied to the worm 23 to rotate the latter in one direction or the other, thus turning the segment 22 and the column l9 therewith, producing required horizontal swinging movement of the boom and scoop in the direction desired.

In View of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides an excavating or loading machine for use in many capacities when earth and other loose bulk materials of various kinds are required to be removed from the ground, or other base surface, and elevated to a desired position of discharge and deposit. A particular advantage which the machine possesses is found in constructing and mounting the boom so that, in addition to lifting the associated scoop in a vertical direction, it may also be revolved about a substantially vertical axis to locate the scoop laterally of the machine. This feature provides for greater facility in operation by reducing the amount of maneuvering of the automotive base vehicle to effect registration of the scoop with associated drum vehicles or other positions of material deposit. The power driven mechanism for turning the mast and boom structures is so constructed that it looks the latter against undue horizontal swinging movement by the use of worm gearing. Also, the machine is further characterized by its mechanical simplicity and ability to receive and handle heavy loads expeditiously with complete and convenient control thereover. The opening and closing of the scoop door 34 is controlled automatically by the employment of the cables and 5| and the springs 38, thereby avoiding the employment of latch devices and associated manual controls.

The scoop door may be opened by four different methods. First, [by pulling on cable 45'while the bucket is making a cut, the required cutting force supplying the reaction needed to overcome the tension of the spring 38, as in a typical trenchdigging operation; second, by pulling on cable El and holding stationary the cable 45, as in dumping the bucket or 800019; third, by pulling on cable 45 and holding stationary cable 5|, as at the start of a trench-digging cut; fourth, by pulling on cables 45 and 5 I. This method may or may not be used and its only purpose would be to open the door 34 in the least possible time. The angular outer end of the boom not only is advan tageous in the dumping of theiscooporbucket *l l as ill-u'strated-lnFig. 3, but his also equally advantageous in starting a trench-digging cut, as shown-marge. It -willbe understood that certain changes may be made in the construction of my improved machinewithout-departing necessarily from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

'1. M a material excavating and loading ma.-

chineza portable base vehicle, a mast mounted on said base vehicle and turnable about its longitudinal axis, a pivot atone end to said mast beam for raising and loweringmovement in vertical planes and swinging movement in horizontal pl'anes, a scoop suspended from said boom and movable longitudinally thereof toward and away tro'm'said basevehicle, said scoop being openable at Ltheiront end thereof to provide for the admittance-ofexcavated materials therein and the discharge of such materials therefrom, a door hinged to said scoop and normally closing the front end thereof, bolts pivoted to the sides of said scoop, turnable bearing elements carried by said door for the slidable reception of said bolts, coil springs confined between the outer ends of said bolts and said turnable bearing elements, said springs normally serving to maintain said door in its position of scoop closure, yoke means connected with said door and said scoop for limiting the opening movement of said door, and a pair of drum-actuated cable carried by said base vehicle, one of said cables being connected with said door and the other of said cables with said scoop, whereby to efiect automatic actuation of said door and the movement of said scoop longitudinally of said boom toward and away from said base vehicle.

2. In a loading machine, a portable self propelled base vehicle, a turnable mast structure carried by and arising from said base vehicle, a boom having its inner end pivotally connected with said mast structure for swinging movement in vertical planes, said boom projecting beyond one end of said base vehicle and being turnable in unison horizontally with said mast structure,

a carriage movable longitudinally of said boom, a scoop supported by said carriage, said scoop being closed on all sides and having an opcnable front end facing toward said base vehicle, a movable door carricd by said scoop and normally closing its open front end, yieldable means normally serving to maintain said door in its position of scoop closure, means for limiting the opening movement of said door, power-actuated means mounted on said base vehicle, and a pair of operating cables cooperative with said drum means for effecting longitudinal movement of said scoop along said boom, one of said cables being connected with said carriage to move said scoop in an outward direction along said boom and the other of said cables being connected with said door to move said scoop inwardly along said boom in a material-gathering direction, said lastnamed cable serving also to efiect the opening of said door as desired.

3. In a loading machine, a portable base vehicle, a vertical mast carried by and arising from said vehicle, a boom structure pivotally mounted on said mast for movement in vertical planes and lateral swinging movement, said boom structure being formed with longitudinally extending guides and an upwardly inclined outer end, a scoop carriage having roller elements longitudinally movable in said guides, a scoop secured to said carriage for pivotal adjustment relative thereto, said scoop having an open front end and closed side, back, top and bottom walls, a swinging closure for the open front end of said scoop, spring means normally serving to maintain said closurein a position closing the open front end of the scoop, a slidable yoke connected with said carriage and said closure for limiting opening movement of the latter, and a pair of drum actuated cables for moving said scoop longitudinally of the boom structure, one of said cables being connected with said carriage and trained toward the outer end of said boom and the other of said cables being connected with said yoke and trained toward the inner end of said boom.

4. In an excavating and loading machine, an elongated vertically movable boom formed with a guideway, a scoop carriage depending from said boom and supported for movement longitudinally in said guideway, a scoop having an open front, means pivotally uniting the sides of said scoop with said carriage to control the cutting angle of the scoop, said means including turnable studs, a door pivoted to the top of said scoop and movable in a vertical plane to open and close the front thereof, a bail having side legs slidable in openings formed in said studs, said bail having a cross leg uniting the side legs thereof, the cross leg being pivotally joined with said door, pivotally movable spring means united with said scoop and door and effective when released to maintain the door in a position closing the front end of said scoop, cable means connected with the carriage of said scoop and trained over guides carried by the outer end of said boom for positively moving said scoop in one direction longitudinally with respect to the boom, and additional cable means extending over guides disposed adjacent to the inner end of said boom and connected with said door to open and close the latter against the resistance of said spring means and to advance said scoop longitudinally of said boom in a direction opposite to that afiorded by said firstnamed cable means.

WILLIAM G. VAN VOORHIS. 

